The AfterDeath?
by artemis-3394
Summary: "Follow her into the next life. I can't say for sure that you'll see her again there, but it's worth a shot right? After all, your chances of bumping into her there are much better than her returning here."
1. General Info

**General Info**

**Setting :: **The residential area in which they live will be referred to by Japanese cities/towns/streets/etc. However, keep in mind that this is a work of FICTION. So, I have created a sort of society of Japanese name, but American appearance/functionality/social behavior/etc. This is simply to avoid my butchering a beautiful culture any further, and because American society is what I'm used to.

**Time – **Pretty close to present day. Spring of 2012.

**[*If you have any questions, message me and I will do my best to answer them!*]**

**Characters ::**

Hashimoto, Takeshi – born September 27, 1973

Hashimoto, Kaede – born February 5, 1973

Hashimoto, Otonashi – born April 10, 1994

(more will be added as they enter the story)

I'm going to try to get a new chapter posted at least once every week. Probably on Fridays or Saturdays depending on my work load. I hope you all enjoy!


	2. Prologue

**Prologue**

_**["Pass. On."]**_

Otonashi's POV

"Kanadeee!"

The anguished cry echoed across the courtyard, sending birds flying in every direction. Sports paused at the sound, heads on swivel and necks craning in rabid attempts to figure out what was going on. Soon enough, their respective coaches sent them back to their various practices, the campus returning to relative normalcy. But one student was not content. He did not exert himself with the strenuous effort of soccer or baseball, nor did he study around a table with a group of friends. His fists pounded again and again against the pavement, his eyes puffy and swollen as tears continued to fall down paled cheeks.

Otonashi choked out another half hearted sob, doubling over with his arms wrapped tightly around his middle. "Kanade. Kanade. Kanade…" He repeated, the words becoming a slurred chant. He knew she was gone, knew saying her name over and over again wouldn't bring her back, but it helped to fill the hole that her departure had created. _I'll never forget. I'll never forget and I will always cry these tears for her.._

The pain was proof. Proof that the memories he had of her were real, that she had existed. If he looked, he would find no trace of her. Not even a strand of hair left on his clothing. But she had been there. She had smiled at him, laughed at him, held him in her arms, and then she had thanked him. Just like his sister would thank him. Then she had vanished, leaving nothing behind but memories in Otonashi's mind which the young man was beginning to doubt. But the pain…the pain was a constant reminder of the truth. _She was here…_ He resolved silently, squeezing his arms around himself tighter. _She was here…_

The world tilted on its side then, any will to support himself leaving Otonashi as his body slumped to the side. His temple cracked against the pavement, but he ignored it. What was physical pain compared to this agonizing ache that refused to go away? What did a little bump on the head matter when he felt as if his heart would stop beating?

"But you don't have a heart. Remember?" A voice prompted, a sound much too cheerful for such foreboding words.

Otonashi's eyes rolled to see who addressed him. Squatting a few feet away was a boy. He had dark brown hair, his eyes a golden honey so alike the gems which had occupied Kanade's skull. Otonashi bit his lip to keep from crying again, his eyes were sore enough as it was, any more tears would just make that worse. The young student returned to studying this new boy, his dull eyes scanning the other's face for any hint of familiarity. It was odd, though the boy looked about the same age as he, there were no definite markings of age. No scars of childhood marred his chin or forehead. There were no straggling freckles left to fade away. He didn't even _sound_ like a certain age. It was like his body had been stuck in a limbo beyond their current level.

"Hey!" The boy said, his voice a bit louder than before as he scooted closer. "Hey, did you hear me?" He cocked his head to the side, a small smile appearing on his lips. "Damn. You really look like shit you know? The name's Sebastian by the way, and no I'm not an NPC. I'm not a human either. I'm more."

Otonashi's eyes widened with surprise and shock. Had he..just read his mind?

"Yup! Pretty cool, huh?" Sebastian said gleefully, a childlike giggle ending the thought. He leaned back, falling with a low 'oof!' on his rear before stretching his legs out before him and leaning his weight back on one arm. "You need to slow down Otonashi, your head is spinning my friend. You're never gonna pass on with your emotions like this!"

It was strange that he sounded genuinely disappointed by this, but Otonashi didn't care. He didn't want to pass on, didn't want to forget Kanade or the time they had spent together. _No matter how short of a time that was…_ His mind was made up, he didn't want to go.

"So you're just staying here then?" Sebastian asked, scratching his head with his free hand. They seemed slender, delicate; pianist's hands. _Just like Kanade's… _

Otonashi gave no reply, his dull eyes staring blankly at Sebastian.

"You can wait forever if you want, but how long is it going to be for her to come back?"

Otonashi blinked. Come back? What could he mean?

"Well everyone has to die sometime right? Kanade is no exception no matter what life she's in. But how do you know that life isn't going to be a _good_ life?"

Sebastian's words had caught Otonashi off guard. He hadn't thought about that, hadn't considered the possibility that Kanade might be happy in her new life. That she might be happy without him. The thought stung, and he pushed it away quickly, but as is the mind's way, some small bug of it stuck with him. Feeding off his concentration like a tick until he finally turned his attention to it once more. What _if_ Kanade had a good life, and then another good life, and then another good life after that? What if Kanade just kept having good lives? How long would it take for her to suffer or lose the memories of her life before she came back? And then…would she remember him? Pain speared through his chest where his heart should be, the heart he had given to her, and he again shoved such thoughts to the back of his mind.

"See?" Sebastian prompted, bringing Otonashi's attention to focus on him once again. "Shouldn't you follow her then? Shouldn't you pass on too?"

Otonashi sighed, pushing himself up into a sitting position. His back leaned heavily against the brick siding of a flower garden, the cold solidity of the stone sharpening his dulled senses. "I can't." He replied simply, his voice sounding empty and broken.

"Why not?" Sebastian's head cocked again, this time to the other side. "It was easy enough for everyone else to do it wasn't it? Why shouldn't you be able to enjoy the same liberties that they do?"

Shaking his head, Otonashi looked over the sports fields as if they held the answer to the question. "It isn't that I'm un_able_ to go, it's that I have to stay here and make sure people don't get lost like Yuri and the others. I have to make sure they understand what's going on, what happened to them, so that someday – when they're ready – they'll be able to pass on just like the rest of the Battlefront members." He finally answered, brown eyes turning to gaze through Sebastian; the glassy orbs starring past him as if he were merely a ghost.

"Well that does create a dilemma doesn't it…" Sebastian said, falling silent as he brought his hand up to chew on a hangnail. Otonashi absently found some amusement in this, that such a perfect being would have such a common flaw.

"Perfect?" Sebastian laughed, his eyebrows flying up in disbelief. "Oh my friend, I am far from perfect!"

Otonashi scowled, it was strange having his thoughts invaded. He wasn't sure if he liked it…

"You're right. It's rude of me to encroach upon your privacy like this, but it's the only way I can get through to you. Trust me, if I could I would stay away from your head forever. Is it always so jumbled?"

Otonashi sighed raggedly, rolling his eyes as he forced his limp body to stand. His muscles danced with pins and needles, protesting from having been scrunched up so long. He stretched to make up for the lack of movement. "Look, I don't know what you want with me-"

"I'm trying to get you to pass on!"

Sebastian drew away with a slight cringe, realizing the statement hadn't been leading up to a question. "I don't know what you want with me, but I'm not really feeling well right now and I'd like to be alone for a while. Okay?" Otonashi said, struggling to keep his words under control, to keep his tears from raining again. He turned, considering the conversation over and his time spent in the company of this strange Sebastian complete.

"So you don't want to see her again…?"

Otonashi froze, his shoulders stiff and his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "How dare you say something like that!" The student cried, whipping around with a finger pointing accusingly at the other boy. "How dare you say that I don't want to see her! I wanted to be by her side forever! I-! I… I love her…" His voice trailed off in something not unlike a whimper as his legs crumpled beneath him. All the previous anger seemed to left him, leaving him feeling more empty than before. Now, on top of feeling lost and betrayed, he felt guilty for treating Sebastian so rudely. After all, he had only been trying to help. Otonashi bowed his head, resting his face in his palms. He could feel the tears, feel his eyes starting fill. She had left him. What else was there to do other than be alone now? What else was there to do than to miss her?

"You could pass on."

The sound of Sebastian's voice spearing through Otonashi's thoughts yanked him back to the present. The student looked up at the strange boy, starring incredulously at his back. "Wha-what?" He stammered, the words sounding strange and unreal to his ears.

"You heard me. Pass. On." Sebastian replied, pronouncing his words carefully as if talking to one who spoke another language. "Follow her into the next life. I can't say for sure that you'll see her again there, but it's worth a shot right? After all, your chances of bumping into her there are much better than her returning here."

Otonashi's eyes had dropped as Sebastian spoke, the student now staring at the ground with his brow furrowed. Should he go? _But what if she comes back?_ He looked up at the boy who shook his head, apparently already knowing what he had been thinking.

They remained like that for a what seemed like years, of course it was more like seconds or maybe minutes, but time warped out of control for Otonashi and he was at a loss for how much truly passed before he slowly stood. "I'm going now.." He said quietly, his voice small and unsure. Tears still wetted his cheeks, but a small smile graced his lips when he looked up at Sebastian. "But I want to know one thing first." The other nodded, his brows raising in what Otonashi took for curiosity. "Who are you?"

Sebastian paused as if Otonashi's smile had stumped him. The boy quickly recovered, however, and he smiled giving a small bow. "I am your guide." With those words, Otonashi's world went black and he was falling into empty space. His eyes remained fixated on Sebastian who somehow levitated at the same spot where he had been standing though the ground had long disappeared beneath his feet, and when the light appeared at his back he still didn't look away. "Choose a portal!" Sebastian called from above, motioning that Otonashi turn around. "And good luck!"

His voice growing almost too faint to hear, Otonashi flipped away from Sebastian and dove for the display of lighting below. The only way he could ever think of describing the beautiful vision would be layer upon layer of aurora borealis dancing amongst each other around the tunnel beam of a bright flashlight. He fell straight through the middle of the path, the lights casting odd shadows on his clothes and skin. A few seconds later the path began to branch off into smaller roads bringing Sebastian's words to mind. _Choose a portal.._ Otonashi thought, glancing down each path as he flew by them. _Choose a portal.._ He looked down one road, catching a glimpse of a family eating around a dinner table, he noticed a woman who looked pretty far along in a pregnancy. _Choose a portal.._ He cast his gaze down another tunnel, this time seeing a young couple curled up on a couch. Again, the woman looked far along in her pregnancy. _A portal.._ Otonashi's eyes caught the burning light of a portal that seemed to glow brighter than any he had seen so far. Even as he fell, something seemed to be pulling him toward it. He let his body follow the tug.

As Otonashi neared the bright window separating himself and the next life, he saw a mother laying on an operating table, her face screwed up in a grimace of pain. He felt the desperate need to comfort her, to hold her hand and share her burden. Alongside the urges was the fear that she would die, that he would lose her. _Wait..lose her? _Confusion filled Otonashi and he leaned back, trying to slow his descent toward this strange woman. "No! No wait! I've changed my mind! I don't want to go!" He cried out, his voice swallowed up by the dancing lights. But whatever force pulled him along refused to relent simply at his feeble pleadings and with a strong tug, a blindingly bright light blazed brilliantly above his eyes.

Otonashi knew enough to realize something was drastically wrong. Where was he? Where had the lights gone? He couldn't breathe right, why couldn't he breathe? Something was shoved down his throat and he coughed on the object, his body thrashing around as he tried to get oxygen to his screaming lungs. Finally, the thing was gone from his throat and air flooded into his body. Otonashi screamed, a high pitched wail. He felt himself being handed to someone, warm arms wrapping tenderly around him. A face appeared, a face he felt like he knew better than the back of his hand. A face that filled him with feelings of love and joy like nothing ever had. The sobbing stopped as she gently stroked his face with the backs of her fingers, tears of both relief and happiness streaming down her pale face.

The familiar woman made strange noises, looking up at someone Otonashi couldn't see. "What will we name him?" The noises were strange, gibberish in the boy's ears.

"Otonashi, after your father." More noises, but this time not from the woman. They sounded different too, deeper and throatier. The sound was strangely frightening, but he didn't cry. He was safe as long as she held him.

"Otonashi.." The woman's noises had turned into a loving croon as she gazed down at her child. "Hashimoto Otonashi." The woman bared her teeth and nodded her head. "I love it!" Otonashi was at a loss for what the people were saying, but he was hungry then, and a small wail was given life through his strong vocal chords.


End file.
